NEWSPAPER PUBLISHING – AUSTRALIA

News Corp tipped to cut print circulations 30pc

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Original article by Aaron Patrick
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 : 12-Dec-17

There is speculation that News Corp Australia will reduce the print circulation of some newspapers by 25-30 per cent following its decision to cease reporting print sales data. Industry sources have suggested that News Corp may also have decided to stop distributing bulk copies of its newspapers, which Fairfax Media has already done. Fairfax Media also reduced the print circulation of some titles in 2014.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, AUDIT BUREAU OF CIRCULATIONS

Over 15.5 million Australians read newspapers in some form

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 10-Nov-17

Roy Morgan Research has released the latest readership report for Australian newspapers for the 12 months to September 2017. Some 15,568,000 Australians aged 14+ (77.8 per cent) now read or access newspapers in an average 7-day period either in print, or online via website or app. This is down 1.7 per cent from a year ago. Cross-platform audiences have increased for three out of the top five leading mastheads in Australia, and analysing the print and digital modes of readership shows that over the past 12 months five of Australia’s leading mastheads have increased their digital audience and two have increased their print readership. "The Sydney Morning Herald" is still the most widely-read masthead, with a cross-platform audience of 4,040,000, down 3.5 per cent from a year ago.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED

Fairfax shareholders back Domain spin-off

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 9-Nov-17

Some 99.89 per cent of votes cast at a scheme meeting of Fairfax Media shareholders were in favour of the proposal to demerge Domain and list it on the sharemarket. Domain CEO Antony Catalano says it is right time to float the property listings business, adding that he is fully prepared for his new role as the head of a listed company. Fairfax will retain a 60 per cent stake in Domain, with the balance of the stock to be distributed to the media group’s existing shareholders.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, MARTIN CURRIE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED

Fairfax goes it alone as investors back Domain split

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Original article by Dana McCauley
The Australian – Page: 21 : 3-Nov-17

The majority of Fairfax shareholders at its 2017 annual meeting voted in favour of demerging the Domain property listings business. Fairfax will retain a 60 per cent stake in Domain, while shareholders will receive one share in Domain for every 10 Fairfax shares that they own. Meanwhile, Fairfax CEO Greg Hywood has stressed that the company’s print newspapers will continue to be published for some time, while chairman Nick Falloon indicated that Fairfax would be open to merger deals following the relaxation of cross-media ownership laws.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, DOMAIN.COM.AU, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, TRONC INCORPORATED, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Stokes questions merger logic

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Original article by Jemima Whyte
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 3-Nov-17

Seven West Media will reduce its costs by $A25m via staff cuts, as part of a broader strategy to slash its costs by $A105m over two years. Meanwhile, chairman Kerry Stokes has told shareholders that Seven has not held any merger talks with Fairfax Media or News Corp, and he suggested that merging a TV network with a print media company may offer few synergies. He also said Seven is trialling a combined TV and print newsroom in Perth, which could influence whether Seven pursues mergers or acquisitions in the media sector.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, CBS CORPORATION, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, CGI GLASS LEWIS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN SHAREHOLDERS’ ASSOCIATION, ENERGY QUEENSLAND, HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS PTY LTD

Digital news ad revenue climbs 8.5%, but print falls 14%

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Original article by Zoe Samios
Mumbrella – Page: Online : 2-Nov-17

Data from NewsMediaWorks shows that the Australian news media’s digital advertising revenue rose by 8.5 per cent year-on-year to $A119.6m in the September 2017 quarter. The rise in digital ad revenue coincided with the launch of revamped versions of major newspaper websites by Fairfax Media and News Corp Australia. Meanwhile, print advertising revenue was 14.3 per cent lower at $A365.1m and revenue from newspaper inserts was down 12.4% at $A17.3m. Programmatic ad revenue was 44.5% higher at $A12.1m.

CORPORATES
NEWSMEDIAWORKS, SMI MEDIA INCORPORATED, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Fairfax clean bowled by Gayle force victory

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Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian – Page: 5 : 31-Oct-17

Fairfax Media has advised that it may appeal against a court ruling that it defamed West Indian cricket player Chris Gayle in a series of articles which claimed that he had exposed himself to a female masseuse. The four-person jury also found that Fairfax published the contentious articles out of malice. Amongst other things, Gayle had sought aggravated and special damages from the media company.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

TPG-News mulled sale of AFR

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian – Page: 29 : 16-Oct-17

Fairfax Media’s former suitor TPG Capital approached News Corp about on-selling "The Australian Financial Review" if its takeover bid succeeded. The approach is believed to have been made before TPG submitted its first indicative bid for Fairfax, although the private equity firm eventually decided to retain all of Fairfax’s assets. Although TPG was primarily interested in the Domain property listings business, it ultimately submitted a $A2.7bn bid for the whole of Fairfax.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, TPG CAPITAL LP, DOMAIN.COM.AU, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, HELLMAN AND FRIEDMAN, MACQUARIE MEDIA LIMITED – ASX MRN, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, NOVA ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD

Seven douses talk of deal with Fairfax

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 19 : 19-Sep-17

Sources close to Seven West Media have rejected speculation that a merger with Fairfax Media is under consideration, stating that no deal is imminent. Recent media reports suggested that Fairfax is courting the TV and print media group, but the Seven source said Fairfax may be merely seeking to attract interest from other media companies. Fairfax had previously held discussions with Nine Entertainment Company, its partner in the Stan streaming video joint venture.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, HT&E LIMITED – ASX HT1, AUSTRALIAN RADIO NETWORK PTY LTD, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, CBS CORPORATION, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, SHOWTIME, TPG CAPITAL LP, DOMAIN.COM.AU

Fairfax meets Seven; Nine talks on ice

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 18-Sep-17

Fairfax Media and Seven West Media have declined to comment on suggestions that they commenced discussions regarding a potential merger prior to the recent passage of the Federal Government’s cross-media ownership reforms. Sources have stressed that any such talks are preliminary and may not result in a deal. However, a key issue could be Seven’s long-term debt of more than $A800m. Fairfax had previously held talks with Nine Entertainment Company, and the two had been widely touted as merger candidates if media laws were relaxed.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, PACIFIC MAGAZINES PTY LTD, WEST AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPERS HOLDINGS LIMITED, MACQUARIE MEDIA LIMITED – ASX MRN, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, DOMAIN.COM.AU, TPG CAPITAL LP, HELLMAN AND FRIEDMAN